Take
by DaPuddingz
Summary: People always said that horrible things happen in the forest. Sarah learns second hand that this is very true, but in a way she did not expect at all. And now that horrible thing is her self-taken responsibility.
1. Chapter 1

It was a cold and dreary day. The rain fell with indifference, the wind blew with no care. I sat in the confines of my home with a book and a blanket, reading away by the soft and flickering candle-light. The electricity had blinked out a few hours ago, so much of the house was left in somber darkness. It was a funny thing, that the outside world was most alive during a storm, but within your home you grew slow and weary, the hours of shadows and pages meandering along.

The thunder cracks would shake the very roots of the house, and for a split second before everything would be illuminated by an eerie white glow as the lightning relentlessly pounded on the Earth and the heavens alike. It was wild and angry and beautiful, and soon I found myself watching the dark grey storm clouds roll over the horizon.

It was only me in that dark house, sitting in the living room all curled onto the coach and into the soft embrace of my blanket. But for some reason, every now and again when the lightning flashed that angry white, I saw movement, not in the clouds or the trees, but inside. Strange things often happened in my home beside the forest, but none had dared to enter my establishment.

I watched the doorway into the kitchen, finding myself not scared, but instead curious. The next time the lightning flashed, I beheld a tall, dark figure standing in the doorway. I narrowed my eyes as the light vanished and the after-image was burned into my eyes. I turned on the very dull lamp after my floundering hand found the switch, and there he stood.

And that was all he did. He wore a cloak, so I couldn't make out his face, but I could see a faint glint of blue being reflected back at me through the lamp-light. He wasn't human, too tall, too slender... it was almost as if I were sitting in front of death personified.

The cloak he wore flowed like silk in the water, always covering his face and always hiding him from sight. He moved not, but rather did nothing but stare at me. Shadows were what he was made of, and the longer I sat, the more uncomfortable I grew, and the more frightened I became. Why wouldn't he go away?

But as the lamp's battery life wore down, and we stared, it grew quiet outside. For a moment the storm seemed to vanish, and I was left with a strange twilight world. My fear vanished with the thunder, and my mind was at peace. But as soon as the lamps light flickered out, and I was bathed in shadows once more, Death fled, and I was left alone with but my thoughts and my emotions.

The only thing I could think of was how he'd came and left, not a word or movement in between. His figure plagued my mind, and though I was left scared and alone, I, for some reason unknown, wished that he would return again someday.

My house by the forest sometimes grew lonely.


	2. Chapter 2

My drive home from work was always less than thrilling. There was a small town on the other side of the forest, and in that small town I was their artist. The school there paid me to design logo's for their basketball teams, cheer leading squad, and all other manners of things. When somebody needed a drawing, they looked to me. It wasn't because I was the best in town, I daresay it was because I was the only one nearby.

Everything about the town was strange. The kids there were strange, the adults were strange, and the animals were strange. But if there was one thing stranger than all of that, it was the forest.

As soon as they were old enough to listen, the adults told their children but one thing. "Whatever you do, don't go into the woods." It was to my understanding that there'd been many abductions that took place in that forest, mostly children, but some mature as well. Nobody knew what took them, or where they went, but when a child who'd ventured into the forest went missing, they were declared dead. I'd only been around for one abduction, but it was enough.

I was from California, and I'd just moved here a year ago. I was on a limited budget, so even the cheapest house in the small town was too costly for me. A student who just came from college couldn't afford much of anything, so I settled on the log cabin on the other side of the forest for a home.

When I say 'log cabin', I don't mean to sound harsh. It was a lovely house, perhaps bigger than it need be, but still soft and warm. And it was very inexpensive as well. After I'd settled down as the towns artist, and got a somewhat-steady income between my artistic roles to the town and my never-successful books that I still published, I'd fallen into a peaceful state of mind. Up here in Maine, it was always cold and dreary, something that was new to me. In all my time in California, an entire 18 year span, I'd never seen snow but once or twice. Now I saw it most all winter, and sometimes even a little in between.

To sum it up, things were very different here. It was a small town with unimportant people, and I was one of them.

However, on the second Satuday in November, things weren't quite the same as they always were. Every second of my day was spent drifting back to that last stormy night, seeing that mysterious stranger garbed in black. It had been like this for a few days now, and I felt distracted and distressed. Part of me urged myself to leave and go back to California, telling me that it was too dangerous here. But that other half insisted on staying regardless of the hooded man.

And there was that one small sliver that wished he would come back.

And so he did.

I stared around my bedroom with tired eyes, trying to make out anything in the dark atmosphere. I'd fallen asleep late that night, because the sounds of the storm had kept me from slumber, and was now annoyed that something had the nerve to wake me again. I glared around, but couldn't see anything.

I reached over and flicked on a very dull lamp, and tried again. I froze.

He was here.

I got out of bed as fast as I could and stood. The same black hood, the same blue glint from the lamp-light. He seemed surprised that I'd been so hasty, and he took a step back.

Some little bell rung in my head. This... thing, it was scared as well. I'd pondered the idea that he'd been the thing that had abducted children from the woods, but he was scared... just like I was.

He eyed me, and the realization of how tall this thing was came back to slap me in the face. He had to be nine or ten feet tall, towering over me like a tree. But I hardened myself. If you can't face him and show him that you aren't afraid, he'll never leave.

I advanced, slowly, trying to remain calm. The shadow backed away, making no noise but silence.

I stopped, confused. "Who are you?" I asked in a hoarse whisper.

I stared at him for a moment longer, but he did nothing but back as far against the wall as he could. One thing I knew about animals and unknown creatures, one thing I knew never to do with them, was to corner them. Things became distressed when you trapped them, and that could mean you leave with scratches on your face... or you don't lave at all.

But by this point, I was close enough that I could reach out and touch him. My curiosity had overpowered my sanity, so now here I was, trying to make friends with something that could easily kill me.

The blue glint disappeared, and I pictured in my mind his face turned away, eyes closed. Was there any reason for him to fear me? It was one of those things were you just wish you could know.

"Can you talk?" I whispered, lifting up my hand and stretching it out to him. The glint came back, and he looked down at me again.

He didn't say anything.

But then... I saw his hand move. The one parallel to mine. He slowly lifted up his shaking appendage and reached closer to me. My heart pounded in my chest, and a fierce wave of adrenaline flowed through my veins.

He brought his hand up, and the cloak fell away. I cringed away, taken aback by the long, thin white fingers of the creature, and the coldness that radiated from within. My eyes closed voluntarily, and I fell to the floor as my foot collided with something lying on the ground.

I gasped and looked back to where he would've been, but he was gone.

I cursed.


	3. Chapter 3

The next week was spent in a monotonous drone of work, home, and sleep. I resented myself for scaring Him away, for my curiosity was overwhelmingly pressing. I wanted to know about Him, this... thing that dwelled in the forest. Was there a reason he'd come to my home? Was there a reason he chose me?

Why had he been scared?

I stewed over this as I sat in the Principle's office at the local school, Pine Ridge High School. He'd called me in, distracting me from my silent brooding, but I'd been happy to make the trip to town. It kept my mind on something other than my own stupidity.

What if I'd just kept still... what if he'd touched me? I could hardly even remember why I'd been so terrified, it wasn't like me to scare so easily. But, though I had been in some frightening situations in my life, I'd never been in one so inconceivable as this. Because, beyond reasonable doubt, I knew that something otherworldly had to be going on. He'd vanished into thin air, nothing left at all aside from memories.

Now it wasn't simply a small sliver of me that wished him back; it was all of it.

The Principle came in, interrupting my thoughts. He was an older man, possibly in his late forties. He had graying hair, and the business suit of a man who knew what he was doing. I'd always respected the Principle, Mr. Walker. He was polite, albeit a little intimidating.

"Good morning, Ms. Winters." He greeted me, taking a seat at his desk. "I'm sorry to have to call you on such short notice, ma'am."

"Not a problem, Mr. Walker." I smiled. "Always pleasure doing business with you. What is it this time?" I asked. Usually it was a team logo, maybe something even less significant, such as something for a poster that would hung up for a week and then torn down by the adolescents in the building.

"A little bit more complicated this time, ma'am, this one's a favor." He stood up and crossed his hands behind his back. Mr. Walker was a tall man, albeit a tad on the plump side, who was very mellow and easygoing. That being said, it was quite the feat, as teenage boys and girls can be quite a lot to deal with.

He faced a board in his room and sighed. "The District's pressing us superiors here at the school to become more involved in the Arts; that includes both music and studio arts. I am not disrespecting your field, Ms. Winters, but with a budget cut like we had this year, supplying the mediums for a full on course is going to be difficult, and one must take into consideration that math and English must be top priority." He looked at me.

"I understand, Mr. Walker." I reassured him.

He let out a sigh, apparently of satisfaction. "I'm glad you do, Miss. You see, I've hired an art teacher and a general music teacher; all I ask of you is that you come in, perhaps every month or so, and give a lecture on art, perhaps representing your college, or to promote creativity. I've cleared it with the board, the bunch of push-overs, but I'm still looking for the consent of somebody skilled enough in the field. Would you be willing to help the school, Ms. Winters?"

I contemplated for a moment, then nodded. "That wouldn't be a problem at all, sir." I stood. "Is there any other business that needs attending to?"

He shook his head and sat back at his desk, writing down something on a tablet. "No, you may go." He dismissed me in that straightforward way he always did, and I left without another word.

The town of Pine Ridge was small, a quaint place. As I was already there, I decided to stop for a spell and socialize. Without a doubt, my favorite place in town was the little cafe only a mile or so from the school. Of course, a large part of the town was little more than a mile from the school, which formed the center point of Pine Ridge, so the point is invalid.

I drove around, seeing the sky darkened with clouds. Something said it was going to rain, and going to rain hard. Things were always to the extreme up here in Maine; the weather, the people, the danger, but somehow it was all so pleasing to the eyes. Sure, it rained and snowed quite frequently, but when you like the rain and snow like I did, there was little to complain about.

My lunch was composed of a hot coffee and a warm, delicious muffin. In all my days in California, I'd never had food to the quality of the little cafe in Pine Ridge. They made it fresh daily, there wasn't a doubt in my mind that this muffin had been made from scratch just hours before I'd arrived. The folks who ran the place knew me well, but in a small and quaint town like this, they knew everyone.

The owners wife greeted me as I sipped my coffee. "Ms. Winters!' She greeted with a smile. The owner, Mr. Josiah, had picked a wonderful woman to marry. Mrs. Josiah was a kind, joyful woman who was always snaking on something or other. Today she had a plate of cookies which she nibbled on. Of course, with all the 'nibbling' going on, Mrs. Josiah was in no way a skinny woman, but she wore those extra pounds well. She offered me a cookie, free of charge, and sat to speak with me.

"What brings you to town today? I haven't seen you in a while!" She smiled, but before I could reply, she'd taken my empty mug and had gone to refill it.

"Business matters with the school, as always." I finished off my muffin and stood. "Mr. Walker's superiors are pushing for an art program, he asked if I could come in and lecture a few times a year, that's all." I walked to the bar and waited for my new coffee.

She brought it within the minute. "Mr. Walker and his programs." She scoffed. "Why, when I grew up in this very town, we had at least three different art classes, and music ones too!" She hurried around the bar, doing this and that until everything was tidy. "But I suppose they just aren't important enough anymore." She sighed and leaned against the counter, looking at me. "You must be pleased, with you being the young artist that you are."

I smiled. "Of course, Mrs. Josiah. I've got to be going now, groceries and business at home to attend to. I'll be sure to come back soon, though." I paid, a few more dollars than I needed to, and departed the cafe with a wave.

The pleasant nature of the town was luring me in, and within an hour of grocery shopping and running errands, the thought of monsters was far from my mind. I chatted with everybody I saw, about the upcoming storm, the schools new art program, and all other manner of things as well.

But soon I had to depart, around 2 in the afternoon. I left the town feeling chipper and cheerful, but soon I was back into the forest.

The tall, unforgiving branches of the trees blocked out nearly all of the sunlight, what little there was, anyhow. Of course, I could still see perfectly well, but it gave off this desolate, gloomy feeling to be all alone among the trees. Somewhere along the line, they'd paved the road leading through it, so it wasn't quite so desolate and gloomy as a dirt one, but it was still depressing.

It was at times like these that I didn't like my isolated house on the opposite side of the woods.

I sat at my computer, typing word after word of one more forgettable novel. I wish I could say that I felt that this would be the breaking point, but I didn't. Every novel I wrote earned me a few thousand dollars, but then sank with all the other no-named authors works. But I still loved to write, so I didn't stop simply because of the lack of success.

It was around eleven at night when the power split. Luckily, the laptop I was on had a battery, so I saved my work and lit a few candles before it blinked out. I sighed. Another stormy night of reading novels and looking for inspiration.

I walked to my shelf and picked up a random title. "Silas Marner." I shrugged and sat on the coach, pulling up a blanket to ward off the cold of a powerless house in winter.

It was a few more hours and a few more candles later when He came. I was on chapter 12, quickly grazing the familiar text, when I heard something a noise from the doorway to the kitchen. I picked up my flashlight and switched it on, shining it in that direction.

And there he was.

He cringed away from the bright light, so I quickly turned it off.

I stood up and took a step to the kitchen, where he'd retreated to.

"Hello?" I called. This time, I refused to be an idiot. Whatever that thing was, some inner instinct told me that I didn't need to fear him. But he feared me.

Of course, there was no response to my call, so I snuck closer. "It's fine, I'm not afraid." The statement itself was a partial lie, because I was still scared, just a little. But he didn't need to know that.

I stepped back as the blackness of the kitchen door grew even darker. I looked up, and saw the candle-light blue flicker of something behind that cloak.

We stood there, staring at each other. He was four feet taller than I was, so I had to tilt my head back to see the glint, but we remained like that, him staring down and me staring up, for several moments.

I reached out my hand.

Another few moments passed...

And he reached out his.

I closed my eyes for a moment and sucked in a deep breath as the cloak fell away, but this time I did not retreat; I waited, and his hand came very close to my own. But he was hesitant, not touching mine, just holding it aloft there beside it.

I reached forward, against every human aspect of my being, and touched his hand.

It was freezing cold, like it had been when he'd gotten close before, but it didn't feel bad. I tore my gaze from his hand and looked back up to his face, locking eyes with those glittering blue rims.

I was entranced by their glow, so captivated by their shine that I didn't feel myself falling, didn't even realize until he caught me before I hit the floor.

**Alright. So I guess this is where little notes go.** **Well, this is a story. It gets better (or worse, depending on your attitude), trust me.**


	4. Chapter 4

"Hello? Please be okay... what did I do?"

My thoughts were slurred, blending together as though I were half asleep.

"Please answer me, I'm sorry..."

I was slowly fading out of consciousness, my mind simply refused to work anymore. I still heard that scared voice in my mind, pleading with me to be okay, but I couldn't begin to reply. My mouth and thoughts were closed.

I woke up to find the house bathed in the rising suns meager rays. I sat up on the couch, eyes adjusting to the still-dim light. Memories of the storm last night were brought to my mind, and I remembered him being here, but after that... a clean blank. Had I fallen asleep? Had he knocked me unconscious? I shivered as the thoughts tried to invade my mind, but the cold was soon dispelled as I felt something touch my shoulder.

He was there, standing behind the sofa. He had a single bony finger lightly touching my shoulder, but when I looked at him he drew it away and retreated a few steps back.

I stared at the black cloak, seeing how it flowed as if in water. I'd thought he'd backed away because he didn't want to be near me, but then I realized that he'd simply been in the sunlight.

Removing myself from my temporary bed, I got up, stumbling a little with a pounding headache, and closed the thick curtains. One by one I closed all of the curtains in the house, while he watched me do so from a distance. The cabin had velvety red drapes, with thickness enough to block out nearly all of the sunlight. It was dark inside once more.

The living room was silent when I returned. With the lights gone, and the candles long burnt out, I couldn't see that blue flicker under the hood, but he stood with a posture portraying unease. My feet slid across the carpet as I moved towards him.

As per usual, he retreated further back into the house.

I followed him, mind running back to last night. As I woke from my morning drowsiness, I remembered his touch, and my own fainting. He had to be the one who'd caught me, and from there put me on the couch. Nobody else had been in the house, and nobody ever came and visited without warning.

I got to thinking back about the voice in my head; had that... was that him? I'd been under the impression that he was mute.

He'd gone to the back of the hallway, where he was pressed to the wall. There was that cornered animal warning in my head, but, as had happened before, the curiosity overwhelmed my urge to protect my well-being.

It was almost completely dark in the hall, as there was no windows to allow the light to shine through. I advanced slowly, my head down. He, as always, seemed scared of me, but I pressed on. I went until I stood only a few paces away.

He stared down, and I up at him. The wordless exchange went on for only a few seconds before he shifted and put himself further into the wall, as though he wished to just disappear.

"It's okay." I said, and held out my hand. "I know what you did... yesterday." He relaxed only slightly. "Thank you."

He stood still for a moment, but then reached up and took my hand. I could feel the way he shook, and I felt terrible for making him feel like this. But it had to be done.

"I'm... Sarah." I said. "You talked to me last night, somehow; I know you did." I stared at him for a moment, willing him to say something, anything at all.

But that moment grew on to a few minutes, and before it could grow anymore I walked back down the hallway, releasing his hand. I could feel something in my gut, something painful.

I sat down on a chair in the living room and put a hand to my temple. My head felt like it was splitting in half, straight down the middle. I wanted to go to my bathroom and get something for it, but I felt like if I moved too much, I'd pass out again.

My eyes closed, and I couldn't help but groan in pain. This had to be the worst headache I'd ever had. Ever since I'd left California, I'd been getting awful headaches every once in a while, crippling, terrible headaches that I'd never experienced before. I associated them with stress, but I'd never been to a doctor to find out anything more about them.

That gentle touch on my shoulder again, and the pain was gone. I jolted in my seat and stared up at him. He backed away a few steps, but this time didn't run any farther.

"I'm sorry."

The words stunned me for a moment. They were spoken within the confines of my mind, but I could hear and understand them as if he'd talked aloud. But above that, one fact rendered me speechless alone;

He could talk.

We stared at each other for a long time. I so badly wanted him to say something else, anything, that it hurt. There was nothing else for me to say.  
He was visibly shaking now, fidgeting. I was on the verge of saying something when he backed into the corner of the room.

I slowly stood up and approached him. He coward down, sinking to the floor as I got closer, so I stopped where I was. The house was dark and gloomy... it felt like the sun had sunken back down. The outside world was silent as death, not a single bird chirped.

I heard something very small and insignificant, it was so soft... I couldn't understand what it was. I looked at him, still lowered to the ground, and frowned.

My feet carried me beside him. I knelt down and put a hand on his shoulder, like he had done to me.

I felt his mind overcome mine, voluntarily or not I didn't know. But I let it happen. Whoever he was, he was afraid. I felt that it was my responsibility to fix that.


	5. Chapter 5

The forest was dark and dreary, branches hung low to his face. He brushed them aside, droplets of water that they had collected dripping onto his face. He would sigh and wipe them off, and try to get the moisture out of his black hair. Of course, there was little point because of all the rain that was cascading down from the heavens, but he did it none-the-less.

"Great weather we're having." He muttered to himself as he made his way deeper into the forest, following the deer trail he'd discovered a long half hour ago.

Everyone else though he was crazy; they all said it, didn't even try to hide it anymore. The folks in Pine Ridge somehow blamed him for the death of his parents, blamed him for shooting old Mrs. Josiah's cat, they blamed him for everything. Sometimes he felt like curling up in a ball and crying, everything was so unfair. He'd never done anything wrong, he'd never shot any cats; in fact, he loved cats! But they put him in the center of every bad thing just because he was different.

Well, let them do whatever, he knew he'd seen something in the forest last night, and he would go back to that damn town and show all of them just who was the cursed one. He would show them, and he would leave; anywhere in the world was better than this superstitious nut-house.

He heard ruffling in the nearby bushes and stopped, freezing in terror. A rabbit jumped out, looking for the sweetest patch of grass to munch on before the storm hit. When it saw him, it lazily hopped away and he wrinkled his nose. Scared of a bunny. Typical.

He walked on, grumbling to himself and trying to stay warm. The longer he walked, the colder the temperature grew, and the more he hated Pine Ridge. Maybe he could just keep walking and never stop until he either found some place new or just died; either would be better than continuing where he was he felt low, he couldn't see a light at the end of the tunnel... sometimes he just wanted it all to end.

His walking lasted until the sun was low on the horizon. He stopped and looked around. It was time to go home. However, when he turned around, he realized that he'd wormed his way off of the trail a long time ago. The woods around Pine Ridge were uniform, confusing... he'd gotten himself lost.

He grabbed the nearest tree and rammed his head into it, cursing his own stupidity. Of course, the tree left a red mark and a good lot of pain, which only made him angrier, but he sighed and just kept walking.

It was pitch dark out, the night-noises were filling his ears and messing with his mind. Once he heard the scream of some cat, which made him go into a panic. He'd ran, but with each step he only felt more lost. The forest was unforgiving, that's what his parents had once told him. That had been a few years ago, but he remembered it now when he should have that afternoon.

If there had been a gun in his hand at that moment, he would have done it. But there was nothing; only the shadows of the night and the thunder of the storm.

But he kept walking, and walking, until he saw a light. His spirits, which were down as conceivably possible at that point, rose a little, and he used the last of his energy to continue his march towards the light. It took several minutes, but soon he came upon a home, all alone on the outskirts of the woods, a big log cabin that had a single candle flickering in the window.

But after a moment of staring at it in amazement, the candle went out.

And when he blinked to make sure it had happened, the log cabin was gone. For the first time that night, he was scared. Alone, cold, frightened, and with no hope of finding his was back, he was scared. Would the people of Pine Ridge even both to look for him?

"Come now, dear child. I am certain one soul would think to search for you."

He jumped and turned around, but all he saw was the shadows. He gulped. "Who's there? Answer me!"

"It is nobody you should fear, little one, I am your savior." He felt something caress his arm, but when he turned to look, there was nothing. "I shall release you from these insignificant worries, human, should you give me permission."

"Wh-what do you want? I'll go away, I'll leave-"

"Leave?" The voice, so dark and booming, was angry. "I said nothing of leaving, child." it laughed, a cold, menaching chuckle, and the boy screamed as the shadows tore him from his feet, back into the forest. He tried to struggle free and escape, but the shadows caught him all over, worming their way around his neck and arms, binding his torso to the soggy ground.

"There. It is a treat to be off those feet, is it not? Now I shall rid you of those pesky human cares, little human." He cried out as the shadows wrapped tighter around him, squeezing the breath from his lungs and the words from his mouth.

"Please-" He struggled to speak. "Please stop, I'll do anything-"

"Silence!" the voice boomed, then chuckled again. "You humans are all the same, did you know that? You plead and beg and attempt to prevent the inevitable; this is your home now, you will never leave this forest. You shall dwell in the night as I have been forced for millions of years! May you never breath in the light of day again, pathetic human, and may the rest of your days on earth be full of hate and misery." The voice howled with laughter as lightning struck the earth and the thunder shook the very being of the forest.

The shadows were upon him, slashing and hacking and invading the wounds they made on his flesh. He screamed and pleaded, for it hurt like nothing imaginable, but the darkness only laughed at him. He felt himself being shaped by the shadows, molded and broken by their menace.

He felt the rain against his face, but he was numb. He couldn't yell anymore, he couldn't talk. The voice had stopped laughing, but he still heard it. The shadows were gone, but they'd taken everything with them.

"Goodnight, human no longer. I know not of this worlds people, but may they scorn and shun you as in the world beyond. Not even the moonlight shall bless you now."

He closed his eyes, crying. He wanted it all to be over, but he couldn't move. He forced his head to look at what wounds the shadows had left. His eyes caught sight of the sickeningly long arms, the pale, stark white of his own skin. He wanted to be sick, but the feeling stayed in his gut and mocked him.

The voice cackled, fading into the darkness.

His presence faded, and I a sense of vertigo took its place. I stared at him, shivering in the corner. That had been his memory. That had happened to him, he wasn't a monster... he was just lost.

I reached forward and touched his shoulder, feeling shaky and sick. His head remained lowered.

I felt ready to cry. "I'm here."

His body tensed for a moment, and I gulped as he shook more violently.

"I promise."

He put his arms around me and put his head on my shoulder, heaving with sobs. He was so skinny, so in-human in appearance, but... he didn't act like a monster. He was just scared, scared and alone.  
So I put my arms around his slender frame and let him cry into my shoulder.


End file.
